Air Masses - Muncy School District
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Transcript Air Masses - Muncy School District
Air Masses
Air Masses
Weather changes when new air masses
move into the area.
An AIR MASS is a large volume of air in
which temperature and humidity are nearly
the same.
Formation
They form when air sits over a large area for
many days.
The air takes on the characteristics of the
land or water below.
They can cover thousands of square miles.
Movement
As air masses move they bring their
characteristics along with it
Review
What is an air mass?
How can weather change with the arrival of a new
air mass?
Characteristics
The characteristics of an air mass depend
upon where they come from.
Every air mass has two names.
– One for moisture
– One for temperature
Moisture
The first word to describe an air mass tells
where it was formed (how much water it
contains).
Maritime (wet) – form over water.
Continental (dry) – form over land
Temperature
The second word describes the temperature
or where it began.
Tropical (warm)– form closer to the equator.
Polar (cold) – form closer to the poles.
Examples
Continental Tropical: dry and warm
Continental Polar: dry and cold
Maritime Tropical: wet and warm
Maritime Polar: wet and cold
Review
What does each word of the air mass’s
name represent?
Explain the Air Masses
Air Masses
Real World Uses
Meteorologists use abbreviations for the
words.
Continental is written as “c”
Maritime is written as “m”
Tropical is written as “T”
Polar is written as “P”
Practice
Assign a name to the following
– A wet, cold air mass
– A dry, warm air mass
– A dry, cold air mass
– A wet, warm air mass
How do air masses move?
Global winds move air masses.
Generally move west to east in the U.S.
As the air mass moves, so does its
characteristics.